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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1995-10-25, Page 1New Sport Sledge hockey lets everyone enjoy Canadian sport. see page 2 Local Artist Clinton portrait artist continues excellent work. see page 5 Sports SDHS student excels at Huron - Perth meet 4 see page 7 Community Newspaper Since 1860 --- Seaforth Ontario October 25, 1995 --- 75 Cents Plus GST Briefly Former Walton man dies in farm accident A former Walton roan who was living in Crediton died in a manure tank at a farm in Stephen Township sometime Friday evening. John Edward Williamson, 26, of Crediton was pronounced dead early Saturday morning by attending coroner Dr. Char- les Wallace of Zurich. He had been pumping liquid manure from a large storage tank while working alone at the Ron O'Brien farm, eight kilometres west of Exeter. The Stephen Township. Fire department was called w the scene after 8 p.m Friday and pumping equipment was used to empty the tank in an effort to locate Williamson. His body was recovered from the holding tank at 2:50 a.m. Ontario Provincial Police are investigating. Local man sentenced to one year in jail A Harpurhey man was sen- tenced to a year in jail in Criminal Court at Wingham on a charge of possession of stolen property with a value of more than $1,000. David Jervis was also convicted on 18 other charges of possession of stolen property and sentenced to 12 months, to run concurrently. Jervis was 46 at the time the charges were laid last April after an Ontario Provincial Police raid at his garage on the comer of Victoria Street and Goderich Si E. in Seaforth The local raid was one of nine executed here, in Brussels and across south-western On- tario in two days last April after lengthy investigations. Town officially OPP on October 30 Seaforth officially switches from a town force to the On- tario Provincial Police in ceremonies Monday evening. Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steck- le and Huron MPP Helen Johns arc both scheduled to appear as is Seaforth Mayor Irwin Johnston and his wile. So arc all members of Coun- cil, the Seaforth Police Services Board, Police Chief Hal Claus and all members of our soon to be former municipal force, and their spouses. The OPP is sending six representatives: Deputy Com- missioner Gerry Boose, Inspec- tor Rick Turnbull, inspector John Mitchell, Staff -Sgt. John McKee, Staff -Sgt. Brian Baldwin, and Sgt. Peter McGuinness. The ribbon cueing in front of the new OPP station on Main Street is slated for 6:15 p.m., and the official swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Seaforth District High School. Clocks go back one hour, Sunday at 2 a.m. 1 BACK DAYLIGHT-SAVING TIME ENDS OCT. 29 • Time will stand still Sunday at Cardno's clock BY GREGOR CAMPBELL Expositor Staff Main Street in Seaforth is dominated by two big old clocks, the one perched on top of Cardno's Hall and the other on top of the Post Office. But the owners of both won't lose any sleep early Sunday turning back the hands of time as Ontario switches back from daylight savings to standard time. The clock on the Post Office isn't in working order, and across the street Ken Cardno has always been a canny fel- low. Rather than trudge up three long ladders to above the belfry in Cardno's Hall, he will simply tum off the entire mechanism for an hour from street level below at a more suitable time. Although most of the original gears and what not are still there, Cardno's clock was electrified back in 1984 by Martin Elderhurst of London. He is the same man who built the snazzy more modern clock that adorns the lower level of the Masonville Place mall in London. Cardno finished insulating and winterizing his clock last weekend. The clock and block have interesting histories. The original 500-1b. bronze bell still sits just below the large timepiece. The four -faced clock in the tower originally cost $1,000 and came from Boston. It cost another $1,000 to install, and just getting it there was quite the engineering feat in those days. Cardno's Music and Concert Hall opened on December 15, 1877. The clock ticked Scaforth's hours away for 75 years, then was inactive until its electrification 11 years ago. The clock isn't working but time isn't standing still on the east side of the street at the Post Office. The building was sold to a Wingham police officer with a penchant for old post offices and privatization in October 1994. His naine is Grant Brad- ley and he moved from Oran- geville into the apartment in the building in January. You have to be agile to get at the old tower through a door way up high into the attic tower. The old pulleys and weights are gone, and the electric mechanism that was installed in the 1950s isn't working. GREGOR CAMPBELL PHOTO TIME SLIPS AWAY - The new owner of the Post Office building on Main Street in Seaforth, Grant Bradley, was up inside the big old clock last week. He is a police officer in Wingham, among other things, and also owns the Post Office building in Harriston. Don't forget Daylight Savings ends early Sunday and we gain an hour's sleep as clocks go back. If you look closely inside the tower you can see a number of names pencilled into the wood, for instance: Besse Phillips/ Dec. 5, 1928 and Gar Baker/I959, among many others. The present red -brick Post Office opened for business on. December 3, 1913. Contractor J.B. McKenzie began to build it In July of 1911. The original clock started ticking when the building opened and was installed by J.F. Daly. Public Works Canada put the building on the block back in 1993. Officer Bradle) , in his early 40s, already owned the Post Office in Harriston. He has looked at others on the market, and may end up doing this kind of thing full time if he ever leaves police work. He is a busy man, and also delivers a rural ma.l route for the local post office. He is also responsible for the Halloween display now to the north of the building. The Post Office is a tenant, as is the Agriculture Canada department on the second floor. Privatization has allowed one Continued on page 2 INSIDE CARDNO'S CLOCK - The innards of Cardno's Clock on the west side of Main Street in Seaforth have been electrified since 1984. The person who did that work is also the one who built the snazzy modern clock on the ground level of Masonville Mall in London. Centralia International Academy opens with no fanfare BY NELLY EVANS SSP News Staff Centralia International Academy opened its doors without fanfare on October 1, 1995. The new educational enter- prise is the third school in.two years to move into the Huron Park buildings once occupied by 25 -year-old Centralia College of Agriculture and Technology and short-lived (six months) Centralia International College. The academy is owned by five partners including President Lauren Sorichetti (former manager of the defunct Centralia International College), Tom Lawson of Grand Bcnd (former mayor) and U.S. Navy Captain Dick Lyman of Detroit. The other partners arc "quiet". "It's low key because we believe the market is more widespread than local. We don't want to be compared (to the former international col- lege) because were different," said Lawson. Here's how the Centralia International Academy is dif- ferent. The academy will oper- ate in four "quadrants," each to be managed separately. "The core business is the facility. If we don't have a good (turnout for) English as a Second Language, we stili have the flight school," he said. Quadrant 1: Accommodation and Hospitality. Academy hosts such large-scale conven- tions as the recent gathering of 100 Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers and 50 cruisers. (on standy-by due to unfound- ed rumors of a possible takeover of Pinery Provincial Park by natives.) "If there's a concern where do you bring a large group?" said Lawson, asking a rhetori- cal question. Last year, trucking compa- nies used pan of the runway tarmac for skid tests. Quadrant 2: Aviation Maintenance and Training. The academy is working with Renaissance Aircraft Associates of London to teach about use of composite air= plane construction materials. Lawson said the academy is also working with Plane Perfection of Godericti to paint planes using the former Clearwater Aircraft state-of- the-art paint booth and facili- ties. Two airplanes have been finished already, he said, a Challenger jet and an Air Quebec plane. He said the facility is being leased on a "project by project basis" in co-operation with Plane Perfection and the Ontario Development Corporation which owns it. Quadrant 3: Flight School. "We're in the midst of final- izing a flight school. We have a Transport Canada -approved simulator on site now," said Lawson. "We will teach basic to multi -engine instrument readings." r4. He said matters must be cleared with Transport Canada and a business partner. Quadrant 4: English as a Second Language. This course is open to foreign students and will begin on January 1, 1996. Lawson said former CIC teacher John Scott, of RR 2 Seaforth, will teach the English course. While students from Pacific Rim countries are being targeted. Lawson added South Korean students, who may also be interested in becoming pilots, are also being invited. There are currently no ESL students registered. Long term commitment A 10 -year lease with an option to lease for another decade has been secured by the new academy. There is no government funding, Lawson said. The academy has leased the Middlesex and Huron halls for the 'classrooms, accommoda- tions and cafeteria; the grounds for the tennis court, ball diamond and track as well as the recreation centre. "We just want.to work hard and have fun," he said. Lawson said the partners hope to cultivate a hockey school in association with the Township of Stephen, using the existing hockey arena, recreation centre and grounds. The Huron Park cadets have moved back into the recreation centre, he added. Lawson said interest in creat- ing a new educational facility in Huron Park began even before Centralia International College folded. He met Sorichetti and Lyman through his work as chair of the Grand Bcnd International Air Show. "We saw an asset being under-utilized by the group prior to (its) collapse," he said. Some of the former staff have been recalled. Lawson said the staff will fluctuate as needed.